Sodium

What is Sodium ?

Sodium is a mineral that the body needs to function properly. It is also one of the electrolyte minerals that conduct electricity when dissolved.

It works closely with the other electrolyte minerals potassium and chloride. While potassium is mostly stored inside cells, 60% of sodium is found in the fluids surrounding cells, with 10% within the cells and 30% in the bones.

Most of our sodium intake comes from sodium chloride, commonly known as salt. Table salt is 40% sodium by weight, with one teaspoon supplying 2.3 g of sodium. Our typical diet tends to be so salt-laden that sodium is one mineral we seldom have to worry about getting enough of.

How Sodium Benefits Health

It is critical, together with potassium, for the proper functioning of nerves and muscles, and correct balance of body fluids. It is also the main ion in extra-cellular fluid (fluid around cells).

Sodium deficiency is extremely rare, but it can occur. Low concentration of sodium in the blood is known as hyponatremia, and can be dangerous.

It can be caused by excessive sodium loss, for example due to prolonged activity and excessive sweating, or chronic diarrhea or vomiting, or use of diuretics, or adrenal gland disorder. Severe fasting or malnutrition can also cause deficiency.

Taking vitamins and minerals in their correct balance is vital to the proper functioning of all vitamins. They work synergistically, which means that the effectiveness of any one nutrient requires, or is enhanced, sometimes dramatically, by the presence of certain other nutrients.

For this reason, if you are looking to take supplements for maintenance of optimal health, the recommended approach is to take a multi-vitamin that has the proper balance of all the necessary nutrients your body needs.

For a list of reputable top ranked vitamin and mineral supplements chosen in an independent supplement review, see Best Multivitamin Supplements. Many of these are manufactured to pharmaceutical or nutraceutical GMP compliance, which is the highest multivitamin standard possible.

Keep in mind, however, that while mineral supplements are useful to plug nutritional gaps that are almost inevitable in modern diets, and to ensure we get optimal doses of nutrients, they are no substitute for a good diet. Instead, use them to complement a healthy diet and lifestyle.

The Food & Nutrition Board of the Institute of Medicine, National Academy of Sciences, in their 1997-2001 collaboration between the US and Canada, set the daily Adequate Intake (AI) of Sodium as follows.

Life Stage | Gender

Sodium Dosage | Day

Infants 0-6 mths

0.12* g

Infants 7-12 mths

0.37* g

Children 1-3 yrs

1.0* g

Children 4-8 yrs

1.2* g

Girls 9-13 Yrs

1.5* g

Boys 9-13 Yrs

1.5* g

Females 14-18 Yrs

1.5* g

Males 14-18 Yrs

1.5* g

Females 19-50 Yrs

1.5* g

Males 19-50 Yrs

1.5* g

Females 50-70 Yrs

1.3* g

Males 50-70 Yrs

1.3* g

Adults older than 70 Yrs

1.2* g

Pregnant Women 14-18 Yrs

1.5* g

Pregnant Women 19-50 Yrs

1.5* g

Lactating Mothers 14-18 Yrs

1.5* g

Lactating Mothers 19-50 Yrs

1.5* g

These dosages are the minimum required per day to ward off deficiency. In therapeutic use of this nutrient, dosage is increased as necessary for the ailment, keeping in mind Sodium toxicity levels.

An excess is more common than a deficiency. Most people take much more sodium in their diets than is needed. It has been estimated, for instance, that diets in the U.S. can contain as much as 15 times the recommended dietary allowance (RDA) of sodium.

A key to a healther diet is to lower our intake of salt, bearing in mind that most foods naturally contain sodium even before salt is added. The Food and Nutrition Board’s recommended upper limit is 2.3 g of sodium per day for adults, equivalent to one teaspoon of table salt.

High sodium intake is frequently linked to increased blood volume and high blood pressure (hypertension). This is especially so if the kidneys cannot get rid of excess efficiently, leading to a build-up of sodium, particularly if potassium levels are low, as potassium balances out some of the effects of sodium.

Excess sodium may also cause a dangerous build-up of fluid in those with liver cirrhosis, congestive heart failure, or kidney disease.

Patients in such cases are usually advised by their doctors to reduce their salt intake. Those with high blood pressure should take no more than 1.5 g per day, while people with cirrhosis, heart failure or kidney disease may need to keep within even stricter limits as prescribed by their doctors.

The Food and Nutrition Board of the Institute of Medicine has set Tolerable Upper Intake Levels (UL) for sodium. These are levels above which there is risk of sodium overdose, especially when taken over a long time.

U.S. National Libary of Medicine [NLM] & National Institutes of Health [NIH]: MedlinePlus. NLM-NIH home page. <http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus>. Use the built-in search function to find specific data. Accessed 2009 March – June.